1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of disposable containers, and more specifically to a container having unique reopenable closure retaining and locking means for use as a receiver of used sharp surgical implements prior to their disposal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
During virtually every surgical procedure, sharp implements, such as suture needles, scalpel blades and hypodermic needles are utilized and, following the surgical procedure, must be discarded in a safe manner. If the safety aspect of the discarding of such implements is disregarded, injury and infection of the operating room and other hospital personnel may result. In order to combat this problem, many products have recently been introduced to the marketplace and many other products have been proposed in various patents.
Another serious problem attendant to the use of such sharp implements (hereinafter referred to alternately as "sharps") during surgery is the necessity of providing an accurate system for determining how many such implements were used and to also insure that all such implements have been accounted for following the surgical procedure. Various sharps count systems and devices also have been proposed to alleviate this problem.
A receiver for surgical implements utilizing a plurality of magnets which are secured to the surface of a foldable foamed elastomeric backing sheet is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,658 to Eldridge, Jr. Similar systems employing an adhesive coating on a foldable pad are described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,069, also to Eldridge, Jr., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,882 to Fenster. Another system similar to the systems described in the three previously cited patents, but also providing for a method for maintaining an accurate count of the number of sharp implements utilized during the surgical procedure, is illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,008,802 to Freitag.
In another U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,109, to Sandel, a disposable container for surgical instruments is described which embodies a non-deformable casing which has magnetic sheets covering the entire interior surfaces of both the lower and upper portions of the case.
All of the disposable receivers described in the above-cited patents suffer from a number of disadvantages and notably among the disadvantages is the inability of the operating room personnel to make a visual inspection of the receiver or container after it has been readied for disposal. For example, although U.S. Pat. No. 4,008,802 discloses a system for maintaining a count of the used sharp implements, this count cannot be verified after the pad has been folded upon itself and adhesively secured together without again opening the pad by overcoming the force of the adhesive attachment.
Briefly, prior art disposable receiver disadvantages are that most can be opened accidentally as with magnetic or hook and loop (Velcro) closures. Others are rendered useless when reopened as in adhesive closures; rigid plastic receivers fracture easily and the ball or pin snap closures fail; most allow lateral side exposure of unsecured sharps; each instance does not allow for safe handling, safe disposal or reopening for accountability of used sharps.
Furthermore, the disposable receivers described and illustrated in the first four patents cited above are constructed so that the sharps may be exposed at the lateral edges of the receivers when they are in a folded, disposable condition. This is undesirable in that it is possible that the implements can be loosened from their attachment to the devices and either be totally dislodged from the devices or placed in an unsafe position thereby creating a potential hazard. This condition is sought to be eliminated by the relatively rigid structure proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,109. However, this container does not provide a count system for the sharp implements or does it supply a means for visual inspection of the implements after the container has been closed and readied for disposal.
A need exists for a system for the safe disposal of sharps which eliminates the various disadvantages which have been experienced with previously proposed devices.